The Companion and the Time Lords
by DancingRose111
Summary: In a normal story the doctor would find you and whisk you off on adventures. It wouldn't begin with losing your dimension and finding yourself homeless in Cardiff and on the doorstep of Torchwood. The Master wouldn't be stuck travelling with you and the Doctor wouldn't be an emotionally unstable time bomb. But that's in a normal story. This isn't a normal story.


Hello all! This is my first story and I would love any constructive criticism. This story is for those who love the Tenth Doctor and the Master. And NO, it is not slash.

Doctor Who and Torchwood are the property of BBC.

Chapter One: I'm where?

From London to Cardiff, she had prayed the whole drive there, she parked her Land Rover and ran through the Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff's main land mark, desperate to get to the one place that she knew of that could give her the answer to her crazy situation. Running around the corner her knees went weak, sending her to the ground. When she had last seen the Touchwood Tourist Shop, it had been covered in mementos, cards, even charms that fans had left on the memorial wall. Now it was stripped of all show memorabilia, the bars and padlocks that kept the public away were gone leaving the entrance to the tourist shop and the HUB open.

"Oh god, oh god, oh _please._" The words slipped out of her like a mantra as she forced herself to get to her feet and slowly walked to the door that would answer her question.

Placing her hand on the doorframe, she took a deep breath and stood on her tiptoes to look into the door window, before the door was flung open. Jumping back as her heart leapt into her throat, she looked at the dark silhouette standing in the doorway in fear. A second later, relief and apprehension warred within her as the man stepped out of the entrance to the Torchwood HUB.

"Kaia Adams?" He stepped toward her reaching a hand out as she stumbled away from him.

She took a shaky breath, "John Barrowmen?"

He put his hand down, a brief frown crossing his before he gave her a toothy smile, "No ma'am. Captain Jake Harkness, at your service. The Doctor told me to be on the lookout for you."

"Harkness!? The Doctor? Then this, this is real?" the words were whispered as the realization finally crashed down on her, she was in the world of Doctor Who.

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Not long afterwards, Captain Jack Harkness found himself making a pot of coffee for the two of them.

"How do you like your coffee?" He winced as she jumped in the chair.

"Wha..?" She stopped and cleared her throat, "What?"

Jack waited a second as her eyes focused on him before he lifted the mugs for her to see and smiled at her, hoping to set her at ease, "Coffee. How do you like your coffee?"

"Oh…" She stared at the mugs and shook her head for a second, "Um, cream and sugar?"

Jack nodded and poured the steaming liquid into two mugs. He watched the young woman out of the corner of his eye as he added cream and sugar to hers. She didn't look like a threat, but he knew looks didn't tell you anything about what a person was capable of. He walked around his desk and held out the mug for her. She stared at the mug blankly for a moment before she reached out and took it from him, wrapping her small hands around the mug and cradled it in her lap. Jack sat in his chair that he had pulled 'round his desk and took a big gulp of his own coffee before leaning forward to look at her. The Doctor had asked him to keep an eye out for her and told him not to hurt her but Jack had questions and he was going to get the answers. He would just have to be gentle about it.

He took a deep breath. "Kaia?"

Her green eyes drifted to his face "How do you know my name?"

He was starting to get worried at how dazed she was. He had checked her for injuries and hadn't found anything. Hopefully she would be able to answer his questions. Now, he just had to get her talking.

"The Doctor told me."

He saw her eyes gain a little focus, "The Doctor? How does the Doctor know my name?"

At least he knew she was paying attention. "He'll tell you when he gets here. Can you answer some questions for me?"

"He's coming here?"

Well, kind of paying attention.

"Yeah, the Doc'll be coming here."

Jack thought a bit as he leaned back in his chair, watching as her attention wandered again. Whatever her story was and whatever conformation she got from seeing the HUB had thrown her for a major loop. He sighed. He wanted— no needed to know if she posed a threat to either the Doctor or his team _before _he contacted the Doctor and before his team came in for the day.

If only for his peace of mind.

He guessed he would start asking questions. If she did end up being a threat, he had a tranquilizer on his desk and she'd be in one of the cells Torchwood had until the Doctor came. There were so many questions he wanted to ask but something that confused him was the fact that she knew of the Doctor. However he could tell from her reactions she hadn't met him so he would start there and see where it went…

"Kaia." He waited for her to look at him before asking, "How do you know of the Doctor?"

"It's …complicated." Her eyes drifted down, seemingly noticing her coffee for the first time and took a test sip before she began to actually drink it. He let her finish it and watched for a minute as she fiddled with the empty mug. Her actions became more focused and when she looked at him again her eyes were clear.

"How complicated?" He prompted. She slowly bent over and placed the mug on the floor between their chairs and sat back up.

"I've known _about_ the Doctor for years, but… oh god."

Jack felt apprehension when she suddenly buried her face in here hands.

"How do you explain something like this without sounding crazy?" Her muttered words did nothing to help the feeling of dread curling in his stomach. His alarm grew even more when she let out half strangled scream. "How do you explain something like this when you don't believe it yourself!?"

Alright, now he was starting to worry.

"It's alright. You can tell me. It's gonna be okay." He put on his best 'I believe you' face when she looked at him and his stomach unclenched when she relaxed.

"Okay." She took a deep breath and let it out, "Okay. Um, your question, how do I know the Doctor? I was fifteen when I first saw the Doctor and …well…"

Jack watched as she stumbled through her words. Whatever she wanted to say, she didn't think he would believe her. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, feeling her muscles tense under his hand. When her eyes found his he smiled at her in encouragement, giving her shoulder a squeeze when she gave him a weak smile in return.

"It _will _sound crazy. I know that, but—just listen and…I'll elaborate when I'm done?" Jack put his elbows on his knees and nodded. Bring on the crazy.

She didn't say anything for a long moment and Jack was about to say something when she began.

"Where I'm from, there's a TV show. About a man, an amazing man… who calls himself The Doctor. And he travels in a spaceship called the TARDIS… and he goes around the universe. Having adventures and saving people. And he meets ordinary people that travel with him, called his companions, and he shows them the universe and just by being with him… they find out that they're brilliant…"

Jack watched her as she spoke. A large part of him wanted to deny what she was saying. However, the passion in her voice, the admiration he could see she had for the Doctor… he couldn't think of another explanation for that. He wanted some sort of proof before he was willing to trust her completely. And he had a feeling she would be more inclined to offer it if she thought he didn't believe her.

He leaned back in the chair and let out a snort, "You really expect me to believe that. A TV show? Seriously. That's the best you could come up with?"

Her head snapped toward him, eyes wide and voice filled with indignation, "I told you it would sound crazy!"

"What you told me a lot of people know about the Doctor. What else have you got?" He stared straight at her, daring her to say something.

"I can tell you something you said around the Doctor to prove it!" That was fast.

"Okay, go ahead. Wow me." He felt a little amusement as she sat back in the chair. She was thinking so hard her all thoughts were flitting across her face. Whatever she came up with was gonna be interesting.

"Let me think…oh good grief, I just watched The Doctor Dances! Um, when you first met the Doctor, he was with Rose and Rose introduced him as Mr. Spock. And … and when you where cornered in the hospital by the people in the gas masks, you pulled out your gun and the Doctor only had his sonic screwdriver!" His eyebrows went up as she went from muttering to almost shouting, gesturing the entire time, her last words punctuated with her finger pointed at him and her eyes alight with triumph.

"I can't remember that far back." He held back a laugh and tried to keep his face as neutral as possible when she deflated, her jaw dropping in disbelief.

"Seriously!?" He winced at the volume of her shout, before shaking his head, turning a smile that slipped out into a grimace. "I'm afraid not. Can you think of anything else? Something more recent? Hey, how about something from around the HUB?"

He felt his amusement fade as he glanced back at her face. She was biting her lip nervously and fiddling with her hands. He leaned towards her and put his on hers. She sucked in a large breath, looking at him guiltily, "Hey, if you need to think about it for a while that's fine. I can wait."

She looked away from him to their hands, flipping hers around to hold his, "No it's not that. Um, have you met the Doctor? In this century I mean."

He looked at her warily, "Yee-s."

"Did you ask him about how you became immortal?"He closed his eyes as he thought back to the first time he had seen the Doctor since he left him after Rose had brought Jack back to life. Remembering the run out of the HUB, grabbing onto the TARDIS and being dragged through the vortex to the end of the universe and the conversation with the Doctor about his immortality flew to the front of his mind. He really didn't want that subject brought up but could see no way of redirecting it at the moment.

"Yes." He felt bad for the sharpness in his voice when she let go of his hand and pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

"'Right, um… wait. New subject! Kind of." She lifted her head off her knees and looked at him. "Probably just as uncomfortable but…I think it might be a _little _bit less personal."

Jack nodded and gave her a go ahead motion when she hesitated. He didn't mind talking about it, but he wanted the details of his immortality between him and the Doctor, even if that privacy was an illusion.

"Okay, when you were at the end of the universe, you found another Time Lord and he stole the TARDIS and came back to earth. When you and the Doctor and Martha got back ya'll found out that he had become the Prime Minister and …" She trailed of as Jack got up and began pacing across the length of his office.

Jack motioned for her to continue and he heard her take a shaky breath before she started talking again.

"…anyway, at the end of the Prime Minister's—"

"Call him the Master." Jack glanced at her as he continued pacing as she paused for a second. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that she was telling the truth, though he wanted to hear what the – TV show, had depicted about that disastrous year.

"Anyway, the…Master created a paradox using the TARDIS, Martha escaped and you, the Doctor and the Jones family were stuck on the Valiant." She paused for a second, getting more animated the more she talked, "All of the scenes they showed with you were pretty cool. The way you ripped your chains out of the wall during that escape attempt was incredible! … Pissing the Master off enough for ya ta have 'round the clock surveillance? Completely boss!"Oh! And the way you ran to destroy the paradox machine and how you went through the Toclafane to get into the TARDIS? That was absolutely brilliant!

She paused for a moment in thought, "I really liked the way they reintroduced you to Doctor Who. The way you were clinging to the side of the TARDIS? That was –"

Her words died in her throat when she looked up and saw the look of horror on his face and was harshly reminded of the fact that it was not John Barrowmen she spoke to but Captain Jack Harkness. Her mind flashed back to the episode 'The Stolen Earth', when he heard the Daleks for the first time, the utter devastation and fear he had had on his face. That was what he looked like now.

He turned away from her and walked to the circular window that overlooked the HUB's main floor and stared down at the center of where some of his worst and best memories had happened. His thoughts swirled in his head. What intimate moments at been shown? Did they show the things he had done? The dark, desperate choices he had made. The times that he had stayed silent when he could have spoke out? The things he hated himself for? They had shown at least part of that horrible nightmare...

"What else did they show?" 

The question was almost inaudible even in the silence of the room. Kaia's stomach twisted in knots from the guilt. She shouldn't have brought it up. It was too sensitive. Why did she have to pick one of the worst things to happen to him in order to prove her point?

Her head snapped up at the sudden thump. Jack had sat down in his chair. He was hunched over onto his knees, both of his hands clutching his elbows for support. The guilt doubled, catching in her throat like a brick.

For several long minutes neither of them spoke. Kaia, in fear of hurting him more and Jack, too muddled to think clearly. Finally, Kaia quietly stood and walked around him, picking up his coffee mug as she went to the small coffee machine that sat on a filing cabinet behind his desk. Tapping the side of the pot to check the temperature, she filled the mug with the still steaming liquid and stirred in a bit of sugar from the sugar jar next to the coffee machine.

She turned and made her way over to Jack and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. He wearily lifted his head and looked at her. The despair and self-loathing on his face made her heart twist with guilt.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "This is not the way I ever imagined this kind of conversation to go."

"Sorry to disappoint." The bitter sarcasm lacing his voice made her wince.

"You haven't. It is my own fault." She moved her hand to her side, looking away from him and glanced around the office before looking back. "I have watched a lot of interviews with the man that portrays you in the show and I based my reactions toward you on those interviews…I'm sorry for that."

Jack stared into her eyes for a long moment. He saw the regret and sorrow at causing him pain in them, he looked back down at the floor again "It's understandable, we probably look like twins."

"…Yes. Yes you do." Her voice quiet.

"How much of my – character— was based on him?" He practically spat out the question.

She thought a moment, "In every interview I have seen… Mr. Barrowman has thanked his fans for loving … well, loving you, and allowing him to continually be able play someone that he has always wanted to play—"

"What? A messed up _Freak_ who won't die?" The bitterness and self-loathing was once more in his voice.

She turned and sat in her chair and put the mug of coffee on the floor. For several minutes, she sat in silence with her head bowed and debated with herself on what she wanted to say. She looked up at Jack, who sat hunched over, a defeated air hanging around him.

Seeing one of Earth's most dedicated and courageous protectors so crushed answered her internal dispute.

She took a calming breath, "Captain. I cannot imagine what you are going through right now. And… I doubt anything I can say can make you feel better. But… I want you to know, because of the Doctor … and because of you, I am still alive today."

Jack lifted his head and looked at her. How could watching _him_ have saved her life?

"I…had given up. But then, before I could…well, my sister made me watch a Doctor Who episode. And I was curious. I stayed up and watched the entire first and second season and … you showed up. I watched you, and I saw what an incredible man you are and you don't even know it!"

He opened his mouth to protest that but she stopped him before he could make a sound. His face 'blanked' as he listened to her.

"You don't Jack! Yes, you were a conman, but, as soon as you realized that your con was the cause of people's deaths you did everything you could to fix it! You risked your life to fix it! Hek, if the Doctor hadn't shown up you would have died and you didn't know that him showing up was even a possibility! And— when you were on Game Station and the Daleks came! And you found out that the Doctor had sent Rose home…and that you were gonna die, along with the entire planet? You were happy that Rose was alive. You were selfless. You were willing to die, so that the rest of the universe could live. And you KEEP doing it! You could live a quiet live, where you wouldn't have to worry about anyone killing you, but you don't! You stand in the line of fire and do everything you can to keep this world safe. Seeing that, watching you and the-the fire you have in you made me want to keep going! To keep trying! And I'm not the only one. John Barrowman, the man who portrays you, he gets stopped by people all the time who have seen Doctor Who or Torchwood and he's thanked for being you and for giving them inspiration. For being a _hero_. You may not think so Captain Jack Harkness! But you are a hero!"

She focused on Jack's face, looking at the few emotions that slipped through his blank stare. Disbelief, shock, fear, and even anger made a brief appearance throughout her, well, her rant. She could tell he didn't believe her, at least when it came to how the fans perceived him. Her face began to redden in embarrassment as he continued to simply sit there. Unable to meet his gaze anymore she looked down at the floor.

Jack felt like he had been hit by a bus as his head spun from the emotional overload. He was shocked at the thought of how many people seemed to like him. But he wasn't a hero, no matter what anyone said. His mind flashing back to so many of the rotten choices he had made. He couldn't imagine how anyone could think he of all people could be a hero. He dragged his quickly darkening thoughts away from the past and looked at Kaia. It was painfully obvious to him that his lack of response had made her uncomfortable, but at the moment he really couldn't bring himself to care and his thoughts once more drifted to past regrets.

She glanced up at him for a second before returning her gaze to the floor. She couldn't believe that she 'fan-girled' on him again. She racked her brain, thinking over the things she had heard or seen about him, trying to find a way to both make Jack feel better and break the uncomfortable silence. Her eyes drifted over to the coffee mug still on the floor and she remembered a clip she had seen of Torchwood. Ianto walking across the HUB and Jack calling to him from across the room, asking for a cup of coffee with a pout on his face. That clip had always made her laugh and as she looked at the mug on the ground by her seat, a smile slipped out. Glancing at Jack, who was not paying attention to her, she reached down and picked up the mug. Wrapping her hands around it to check the temperature and finding it still hot she cleared her throat. She hadn't watched much of Torchwood, but in one of the interviews she had seen, John Barrowmen had said that Ianto would give Jack a cup of coffee to apologize. She held out the mug and hoped the mimicry would be understood.

Jack was startled out of his thoughts at the sound and looked over to her and blinked when she held his favorite mug out to him with a contrite expression on her face. He blinked again and felt laughter bubbling up as he realized what she was really offering him. There was nothing she could say or do that would change what had happened to him or the fact that she had seen a lot of his more miserable moments, nor could she understand what he was feeling. However, she could be sorry that it happened and that was what she was offering, a silent apology. 

Kaia relaxed when the tension that had been building since the end of her speech dissipate as Jack began to laugh. She had never really thought about it, but Jack was the kind of guy that would either dwell on past regrets or he would laugh them away. And she was glad that he was willing to let go of the hurt that her words had unwittingly brought up.

The self-disgust that he had been feeling had completely disappeared by the time his laughing fit had passed and he had caught his breath. He reached over, taking the mug from her hand with a smile on his face and leaned back in his chair, sipping the coffee. They sat in a companionable silence before a thought came to him.

He turned toward her, "Kaia?"

She stopped her visual inspection of his office and looked at him curiously, "Yes?'

"Why did you come here? To the HUB? Why not go to someone else to find the Doctor?" He watched in amusement as her face got red. He strained his ears when she mumbled, "What? I couldn't hear you."

She glanced up from the floor, eyes sparking with embarrassed indignation, "I _said_ because the HUB is one of the central locations in the Doctor Wh— well, this universe. You are the only companion that has a known address. Martha is with UNIT, I have no idea how to find Sarah Jane, and Rose is stuck in Pete's World. So I came here."

He almost asked about Rose, but he figured he could always ask later, "Didn't …Doctor Who… show how long I waited to find the Doctor the first time? I can understand coming here to try and get help from me if you know about Torchwood but trying to get a hold of the Doctor through me is not a well thought out plan."

"Didn't you say that the Doctor was on his way here?" She raised an eyebrow at his skepticism.

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away "Yeah, he's not on his way yet. I have to call him in a bit. But until four months ago I wouldn't have been able to do that."

She smirked, leaning back and resting her chin in her hand, "You couldn't call him…but Martha Jones could."

She tried not to laugh at the befuddled look on his face as he processed that information.

"So…Martha calls the Doctor for help at some point." He waited for her nod, "And she uses a phone."

"Yep. The TARDIS actually has a phone hooked to the control panel, but Martha gave the Doctor her cell and told him to keep in with him just in caaaaaaase." Her last words were elongated by a large yawn, and sprawled back in her chair. "Good grief I need more coffee."

He chuckled at her comment and checked his watch, "It's… four a.m. I'm not surprised you're tired."

"You don't know the half of it. I had to get up at two a.m. to get on an eight hour flight from O'Hare to Heathrow early this morning and was supposed to stay the night in my old apartment. But, the new tenants had already moved in and my realtor was a jerk and didn't tell me so I had to pack the last of my stuff in my 'rover and drove to Cardiff. And then all this happened!" She flopped forward, elbows planted on her knees as she briskly rubbed her face before shooting him a tired smile, "So, yeah, I agree, long day."

"How did you know you weren't in your univer – Wait, never mind." He waved off her attempt at answering through another yawn, "We can all talk after the Doctor gets here."

She blinked tiredly at him when he stood up and held out his hand to her. "Come on, you need to sleep… and I need to finish my paperwork."

"I need to fix my car first. I kinda parked in a panic." She muttered sleepily, reaching out and taking his hand.

"I'll take care of it," he assured her as he pulled her to her feet, quickly grabbing her shoulders to steady her when started falling backward. "Hey careful there."

Grabbing his forearms as her head began to spin, she could feel the exhaustion hit her like a freight train, "Dang… adrenalin and coffee wearing off at the same time stinks."

"Don't I know it." He muttered as he led her around his desk.

Sometimes she absolutely loathed the way her body worked. She could go twenty-four hours without any sleep. Once, she had clocked herself at seventy-five hours when she was in college, but after the twenty-four hour mark, if she thought about sleep at all after that her body would crash on her like a computer in shut down mode.

She could feel her brain getting fuzzier but…"Isn't the couch the other way?"

He directed/sat her in his desk chair and turned to lift the hatch that led to his sleeping area, "You'll be crashing in my bed, and I slept last week."

He didn't want her to be sleeping on the couch, it was in one of the main areas of the HUB. When his team came in in a few hours she'd be woken up. He didn't think she would mind meeting everyone, but when the Doctor did come Jack wanted to talk to him. Before Kaia woke up.

"Oh—kay." She yawned out. Leaning back a bit in the chair, she watched Jack for a few seconds before she felt the last of her reserves disappear. She managed to get out a quiet 'I'm gonna fall asleep now.' before her eyelids shut and the world faded away.


End file.
